Reports

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust looks at how to equalise access to early education. A child’s early years play a significant role in determining their chances later on in life, including their chances of social mobility. But the poorest children are already 11 months behind their peers when they start at...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies looks at the long-term growth in the numbers of young people pursuing education after age 16 Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire education sector has faced a period of unprecedented challenge in seeking to provide remote lessons and support to students....

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance looks at how simple VAT changes could help people make greener choices. A package of simple and cost effective changes to VAT could help people make greener choices the easiest choices as the first step towards a greener tax system. Building on our survey results with BritainThinks,...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies looks at long-lasting health benefits of Sure Start. New IFS research finds that one of England’s biggest early years programmes delivered long-lasting health benefits for children through their teenage years. Taken together, the savings from reduced hospitalisations up to age 15 offset around 31%...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government warns that even if exams can be sat in the usual way next year they cannot be assessed as usual. Covid Tests: Schools and exams in 2022 and beyond warns that even if exams can be sat in the usual way next year they cannot...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society looks at whether the British Army is fit for purpose. The UK should scrap its continued plans to procure and use the Ajax tank platform, according to a think tank report. The study, The British Army’s Ajax: Fit for purpose, recommends the army replace the...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at why restoring growth is a matter for every UK sector. A narrow focus on high-value sectors will not address the UK’s £300 billion growth gap.   This report analyses the UK’s flagging productivity and growth since the 2008 financial crisis. With no one sector to blame, the paper says boosting productivity...

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance looks at how jobs in recycling, repair and reuse can help deliver on levelling up the country. Jobs in remanufacture, repair, recycling and reuse can help the UK government deliver on its promise to level up the country. This report shows that, with a more ambitious approach...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the government’s handling of education during the pandemic. The government's failure – indeed refusal – to make contingency plans for schools and exams in the summer of 2020 is the most “unforgiveable aspect” of its handling of education during the coronavirus pandemic.  Published ahead of the 2021 A-Level...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at Russian military non-nuclear deterrence as it exists today. New developments in Russian long-range precision-guided weapons strongly support the idea that the country’s leadership has been giving a greater priority to non-nuclear strategic military deterrence. The cases of Ukraine and Syria demonstrate Russia’s willingness to use...

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust looks at how the pandemic has disrupted education for this year’s cohort of university applicants. In the wake of last summer’s disruption to the Higher Education entry process, this year’s cohort of young people finishing school and college have faced their second consecutive year of disruption...

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation looks at the new shift to hybrid working. As the full scale and implications of the post-pandemic shift to hybrid working are becoming clearer, this new joint Work Foundation and Newcastle University Business School report provides insight into the challenges and opportunities related to remote working...

This report from UK think tank Bright Blue looks at a plan to reform UK carbon pricing. The UK’s current system for pricing carbon is inadequate, inconsistent and unequal. Not only must carbon pricing go much further if the UK is to reach net zero by 2050, but taxes on pollution must also be made...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how to strengthen international efforts to end the pandemic. A weak and fragmented global response risks extending and worsening the Covid-19 pandemic. This report brings together recommendations from a series of roundtables and events attended by leading international scientists, former government ministers and...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at strategic partnerships and managed ambiguity for South Korea. Increased competition on all fronts between China and the US has narrowed the space for cooperation and amplified the risk of confrontation. Countries such as South Korea that have long-standing partnerships with both the US and China...

This report from UK think tank the Foreign Policy Centre looks at Kazakhstan and the period of change it is going through. As we approach the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence this publication, Retreating Rights: Examining the pressure on human rights in Kazakhstan, finds the country in a period of change. The gradual passing of...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the Shared Fund and if it is strengthening the union or undermining devolution. The UK government’s post-Brexit UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) – replacing EU ‘structural funds’, to be launched in April 2022 – risks damaging trust between the UK and devolved administrations...

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute looks at the impact of the pandemic on the early years. This survey, in partnership with NDNA, which is the final report from a year-long research project investigating the impact of the pandemic on the early years, examines the experiences of smaller early years settings,...

This report from UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation follows workers’ employment journeys through 2020. This briefing focuses on the millions of workers furloughed or out of work during the first COVID-19 lockdown. What happened next to these workers? Were they able to stay afloat and re-join the labour force when lockdown was over?...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies looks at the impact of the pandemic on high streets and commercial centres. The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on high streets and commercial centres across the UK. Reshaping spaces could provide space for 500,000 new homes and unleash tens of billions in...

This report from UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation looks at the Employment Bill is the perfect opportunity to improve the quality of jobs. For too many people, jobs are not working. JRF has been working with people with experience of poor-quality jobs to better understand the issues that hold people back. Combining their...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at de-risking investments for circular business models and the SDGs. The circular economy is a key part of global efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Circular economy activities aim to reduce overconsumption, design-out waste and restore and regenerate ecosystems and natural capital. However,...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society looks at the “self-imposed restrictions” that the UK imposes on its relations with Taiwan.  Supporting Taiwan: A Calling for Global Britain, published today by the Henry Jackson Society, criticises what it brands the “self-imposed restrictions” that the UK imposes on its relations with Taiwan. Since...

This report from UK think tank Bright Blue looks at public attitudes towards the natural environment. Whilst the natural environment may not be relatively high on the UK public’s list of policy priorities, this report has nonetheless demonstrated that the majority of the UK public engages with the natural environment, frequenting it regularly and widely...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the growing need to clarify rules and improve transparency around the appointment of NEDs. Matt Hancock’s resignation – and Gina Coladangelo’s role as a departmental non-executive director (NED) – has exposed the growing need to clarify rules and improve transparency around the appointment...